BOX SCORE

MARQUETTE, Mich. – Southwest Minnesota State shot 81 percent from the field in the second half to open up a five-point halftime lead and go on to earn a 68-53 non-conference victory over Northern Michigan on Thursday night at the Berry Events Center.

SMSU (2-2) finished the game shooting 56 percent (24 of 43) from the field, including 13 of 16 in the second half. The Mustangs made their first 10 shots of the second half and didn't miss their first shot of the half until six minutes and 30 minutes remained in the game.

Matt Zager led SMSU with 13 points and three steals, while Shaun Condon added 11 points – including nine in the second half – with a pair of 3-pointers.

SMSU used a balanced scoring attack to the earn the win with seven players scoring seven or more points in the game. Mitch Weg added nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Vinard Birch scored eight points – all in the second half – with a team-high four assists.

Nick Smith, Joey Bartlett and Cole Martin all chipped in with seven points apiece. William Giddings led SMSU – which held a 35-25 rebound advantage – with eight rebounds.

NMU (1-2) shot just 37 percent (19 of 52) from the field, including 25 percent in the final 20 minutes.

SMSU never trailed in the game and built its largest lead of the opening half at 17-8 with 10 minutes and 44 seconds remaining following a lay-up by Smith. SMSU held another nine-point lead at 19-10 after field goal by David Condon, before the Wildcats rallied and cut the lead to three on a pair of occasions before the Mustangs settled with a 33-28 halftime lead.

SMSU's hot-shooting to begin the second half quickly opened a pair of 10-point leads in the first four minutes before NMU answered with a short run to make the score 45-37 at the 13:30 mark. A basket by Birch followed by a three-point play by Shaun Condon made the score 50-37 with 12:23 left and SMSU never had its lead drop below ten points the remainder of the game.

Justin Newell led Northern Michigan with 15 points on 5 of 10 shooting.

Southwest Minnesota State will close out its two-game Michigan road trip tomorrow night taking on Michigan Tech (1-0) with tip-off slated for 6 p.m. CST.